EN
The article discusses and presents a preliminary interpretation of a survey on the microsocial level of perception and experience of the past. The target group of this qualitative research, conducted by the National Centre for Culture, Poland (NCK) and the Ipsos research specialists, consisted of amateur ‘history enthusiasts’ who identify themselves as ‘people with a vast interest in history’. The aim of the research was to establish the fundamental motives and reasons for taking an interest in history and ways of discovering it. One of the most prominent academics of memory studies, Jeffrey K. Olick, suggests that mnemonic practices should be used as a research subject as they are central planks of modern and postmodern life, and this provides a context for the discussion on the NCK/Iposos survey.